


When Darkness Meets The Light

by ChibiTsukiHikari



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alana is a bitch, Almost happily ever after but nope I dun fucked everything up sorry, Cause I had to look up how fast gunshot wounds can make you bleed out on certain parts of the body, Cause I sure am, Does anyone wanna just stab Alana bloom cause I seriously wanna, Emotional Hannibal, Established Relationship, Established Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter, Fatal Injury, Hannibal Loves Will, Hannibal has Feelings, Heartbreaking goodbye kiss, I hope everyone is crying after they read this, I'm soooo sorry Hannibal, I'm sorry Will, Jack isn't much better to be honest, M/M, Major Character Injury, Major character death - Freeform, Murder husbands in Argentina, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Post-Fall (Hannibal), Sorry Not Sorry, The FBI would be totes concerned if they saw my browser history, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Will Loves Hannibal, i'm not crying, you're crying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 14:17:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12842946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiTsukiHikari/pseuds/ChibiTsukiHikari
Summary: The next few seconds happen in a blur of movement, several things happen at once as the sound of Jack’s gun going off cracks through the silence of the living room like a bomb going off.Alana lets out a wail of pure unadulterated horror.





	When Darkness Meets The Light

The over head lights of the basement he was currently situated in were dimly lit at best. The glow of the array of the many computer screens that were lined up against the wall reflected off the dark skin of his face as his dull brown eyes scoured over the many images depicted on them.

Jack brought one of his a well callused hands over his eyes rubbing at them tiredly. It had been two years, two goddamned long fucking years since Hannibal Lector and Will Graham had just up and disappeared like ghosts into the darkness of the night. 

Leaving behind just the cold mutilated corpse of Francis Dolarhyde; and the liters of gore and blood that linked them to the scene of the crime.

Price and Zeller had been more than certain that given the amount of blood that had been spilt that one if not both of the men had died shortly after. Even if they had managed to not bleed out immediately, taking into account the severity of their wounds it was a shot in the dark for them to have survived such a fall.

That being said, neither of their bodies had ever been found. Which left a rather bitter aftertaste in his mouth and a seriously nauseating feeling deep within his gut that he couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard he tried.

No, they had survived somehow. How? He wasn’t exactly sure but he knew deep down that Hannibal and Will were out there somewhere, and he would be damned if he was going to let them live happily ever after like some morbid version of a Prince and Princess come straight out of a Disney film. 

The clicking of three inch heels clacking against linoleum floor is what draws him back to reality. A soft warm slender feminine hand rests gently against his shoulder slowly at first as if not to startle him.

Alana gives him a strained but genuine smile, “I heard you’ve been pulling all nighters in front of the international CCTV footage. Jack don’t you think…perhaps that…”

“They aren’t dead Alana.” His gruff clipped response simmers in the air between them before he sighs deeply and rubs at his eyes again, “I thought you of all people would understand my reasoning behind doing this.”

Her cerulean blue eyes soften some before she pulls up a chair next to him and folds one leg over the other before speaking, “Oh believe me Jack, I understand completely. I know they aren’t dead; Hannibal is too resilient to die so easily, he’s kind of like a cockroach in that regard. Will on the other hand, I’m not so sure…he’s always been so fragile in both mind and body. If he left with Hannibal, I’m not sure the him we both knew would have survived.”

Jack brought his eyes back to the CCTV footage his expression sour and pinched, “I don’t think Will has been the Will we knew for quite some time now, even before the Red Dragon even started his killing spree. I think we might have lost him the moment Hannibal Lector stepped into my office all those years ago.”

Alana falls silent for a moment trying to formulate her next words carefully, “Perhaps that much is true yes, but we can all admit that Hannibal made fools of us all. And the one who suffered the most out of all of us is without a doubt Will Graham.” 

Folding his hands in front of his face Jack leans forward resting his chin over them as he continues to watch the computer screens. 

“Wait is that…Jack! Look!” Alana’s voice highers a few octaves in alarm next to him as she points to a specific monitor with the location listed in small blocky white lettering in the corner of the screen listing Buenos Aires, Argentina. 

Jack’s eyes snap to the screen in question taking in every detail of the scene playing out on it. 

Will Graham appeared surprisingly clean shaven with only a knotted looking scar on his one cheek marring his face, his dark chestnut curls were far longer than jack had ever remembered seeing him wear it. The younger man’s hands were full of grocery bags as he turned the corner of a street. But after Jack had paused and rewound the footage it was undeniable even without the usual tell tale scruff hiding his features, that this was in fact Will. 

“Well I’ll be damned…he really is alive after all.” Jack breaths out harshly through his nose as he leans back in his chair heavily finally feeling the exhaustion seep into his bones.

“What will you do Jack?” Alana asks as she worried her bottom lip some, “Will you go after them? What if Hannibal isn’t even with him?”

“Well we’ll figure that out when we get there won’t we? And if Hannibal isn’t there I bet Will knows exactly where he would be anyway.” Jack remarks his lips twitching into a smirk as he stands up brushing free the wrinkles out of his black slacks as he does so.

“What makes you think I’m coming along?” Alana lifts a well sculpted dark brown brow at him.

Jack snorts and rolls his eyes as he fumbles with his car keys when he takes them out of his coat pocket, “If anyone hates Hannibal more than me, it’s you.”

Grimacing Alana lets out a soft sigh before pulling out her cellphone, “I’ll book the flights, and tell Margo that we are leaving.” 

Jack grinned a shit eating grin that nearly split his face with the gravity of it, “I knew you’d see it my way in the end Alana.”

 

\----------------------------------------------------

 

Life in Buenos Aires had taken some getting used to for Will; for one he didn’t know a lick of Spanish besides other than how to say his pants were on fire and to ask where the bathroom was. 

With such a limited choice of vocabulary to choose from it really didn’t help him carry on a conversation with anyone. Which he’s more than a bit sure Hannibal quite enjoyed and appreciated, because the older man was still very much a manipulative possessive asshole who liked doing the talking for the both of them.

When they had first arrived nearly two years ago, it had only been the two of them for months at a time as they slowly licked their wounds and began to recover. The personal bubble that had been erected blocking out the outside world, had only been popped by Chiyo occasionally stopping by to check on their wounds and restock the groceries in the kitchen. 

Surprisingly it had been rather pleasant and quiet for a long while. Their relationship had been rocky at best of times as they danced between the boundaries of friend and foe. Which over time the bond that they seemed to share had somehow begun to grow beyond comparisons as it mutated and evolved past being so aptly and simply labeled at all. 

They suddenly didn’t fall into any known category anymore, they simply just “were” and that was perfectly okay for a while for the both of them. But it soon became startlingly obvious that they had become something much more unique than being just “friends” or even “lovers” for that matter.

After their near death experiences from the aftermath of falling from the bluff and into the Atlantic Ocean it was clear that they could no longer go back to the start nor could they try to brush it all under the rug and hope for the best.

No, ignoring things had never quite worked well enough when it came to his relationship with Hannibal. He had learnt that the hard way after all.

Soon after the first year of living together, they had fallen into what could only ever be possibly described as a domestic bliss period. 

Hannibal had managed to open a small hole in the wall clinic that took up the majority of his time when he was not home. When he was home though their house was always filled with most delicious aromas that never ceased to make Will drool.

The older man hadn’t lost his culinary skills while rotting in that glass shoe box of a prison cell that much was for sure.

He himself had found work at the local pier as a fisherman, it brought in enough money so he didn’t have to ask Hannibal for pocket money like some stay at home wife.

During the beginning half of the first year in Argentina he had finally worn Hannibal down enough to let him own a dog. On his way home from work he had found a cute small scruffy female mutt that had taken to following him around whenever he went for his walks. He fell instantly in love, after spending about two weeks trying to convince Hannibal to let him keep her the older man gave in. 

And thus their family of two became three, he promptly named her Encephalitis, Cephy for short. Which had started out as a sort of a jab at Hannibal, but quickly became more of an inside joke to be shared between the two of them. 

One dog quickly turned into two a few months later much to Hannibal’s displeasure, in the form of Cerberus a pit bull mix with a massive overbite who was also missing one eye.

He quite accidentally came across him and had saved from a local underground dog fighting ring, one that he had single handled shut down but that was another story entirely.

Last but not least came Pandora a three pound two year old long haired black and tan Chihuahua that had been abandoned by one of their neighbors when they moved. 

Needless to say Hannibal had not been happy, he barely wanted the one dog and now they had three. When he had begrudgingly asked Hannibal if he would feel better if he found homes for both Cerberus and Pandora his only reply was coming home the next day to find two new dog dishes for the new four legged members of their household. Both of the dog’s names were printed neatly in elegant wavy script on them where they now rested on a plastic mat on the kitchen floor by the back door.

After that they pretty much lived every day for the past two years dare he say it, quite happily. Deep down he knew he should feel guilt for abandoning both Molly and Walter; but in all honesty he felt as if a staggering weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders. For the very first time in his life he wasn’t just aimlessly going through the motions.

He was truly living again, and as unfortunate and sad as it is was to say it out loud to himself, not even Molly had ever made him feel that way. 

If he wanted to be totally truthful to himself, only one person he had encountered in his life thus far had ever made him feel that perhaps he could be possibly so much than he’d ever even imagined for himself to be.

Hannibal Lector, the very humanoid embodiment of a tornado had blown through his life. Uprooting every single belief that he previously held near and dear all the while deviating his personal moral compass to spin every which way until it broke entirely.

Granted there were more bad memories between the two of them than good ones. 

Despite the flawed jaggedness of the brokenly grotesque complexities of their relationship, if he had been given the magical opportunity to go back and experience everything over again; he more than likely wouldn’t change a single thing. 

Even the really bad parts; those terrible but irreplaceable parts of them that broke and shattered into pieces only to rebuild them over again and again into two identically different beings. 

Will shook his head to clear his musings; he walked up the stone pathway to their front door.

After a moment of fishing around his pockets for his keys he unlocks the door and pushes it open, taking off his boots at the door he leaves them on the mat.

But he’s greeted not by three happily barking dogs, but instead a pure eerie silence and a distinct lack of any presence of the four legged creatures whatsoever. 

Instantly on guard Will pulls his phone out from his pocket and quickly types out a short text of “I think someone’s in the house” and sends it to Hannibal; who he knows is probably still at work.

Shrugging off his light jacket he hangs it on one of the coat rack hooks next to the door and makes his way toward the living room with cautious slow steps.

He clucks his tongue and whistles a bit trying to draw out one of the missing dogs, “Where are you guys? Cephy? Dora! Cerbrerus? Come on guys this isn’t funny…”

Stopping rigidly his back bone straight as a rod in the doorway to the living room his blue eyes lock with Jack’s dark brown ones.

“Hello Will.” Jack states coolly from where he is seated on the couch.

Will’s lips twitch as he fights back a snarl, he schools his expression to become blank and hopefully unreadable, “Jack, it’s been a while.”

Moving toward the liquor cabinet that’s on the right of them Will walks over to it turning his back to Jack in a show of defiance and lack of fear, “I don’t suppose you are here to just catch up and reminisce about old times though are you?” 

He then opens a bottle of wine and takes out two wine glasses before filling them. Walking over to Jack he holds out one glass to his ex boss and friend.

Hesitantly Jack takes the glass from him and sniffs it before taking an appreciative but gracious sip of it, “No, I am not.”

“Where are my dogs?” Will asks casually but there is an undertone of a promise of pain if Jack answers in a way that displeases him.

Snorting Jack dares to smile at him, “Oh, they’re fine, don’t you worry.”

“I won’t repeat myself again after this Jack, where are my dogs?” Will stalks forward closer to the older man his body language emanating raw anger.

Jack puts up his free hand in defense, “Geez Will, calm yourself they’re just dogs for Christ’s sake! Alana put them in one of the bedrooms for me, so we wouldn’t have any interruptions.” 

His eyebrows fur slightly, “Alana is here?”

Taking another sip of wine Jack simply nods opting to remain silent and not further explain. 

“What is it that you want from me Jack?” 

Jack seems to mull over the question as he swishes the wine in his glass around, “I think you know what I want, and why I am here Will.”

“How did you even find me?” He frowns not bothering to take a seat but choosing to instead stay standing just a few feet away from Jack just in case the other man decided to try and pull something.

“It wasn’t easy, and to be quite honest it was entirely by accident. But I saw you on one of the many international CCTV video footage's I was pouring over one night.” Jack states smugly as he smirks at him broadly.

“Of course, you would only find me by pure coincidence.” Will drawls dryly. 

Jack shrugs, “Accidental or not, I’m here and there is no going back or changing that now. So why don’t you just tell me where Hannibal is so we can get this over and done with.”

Will cocks an eyebrow at him, “What makes you think that he’s alive? Or that even if he was that I’d tell you where he was anyway? I’m done being your tool Jack, my puppet days are over my strings having long since been cut and dismantled.”

“Have a new puppeteer now do you?” Jack inquires darkly.

He sneers baring some of his teeth in the process, “I have not gone from one master to the next if that is what you are so bluntly implying Jack.”

“Where is Hannibal Will? I very much doubt that you could have afforded this place all on your own, on a fisherman’s salary at that.” Jack states as he places the half empty wine glass on the coffee table before him. 

“What is it that you actually want to hear exactly Jack? Maybe you want to believe I’ve really been here by myself these past two years? Or do you want me to tell you what you deep down know to be the truth? That poor mentally unstable Will Graham finally cracked enough mentally to run away with Hannibal the cannibal to become “Murder husbands” as Freddy Lounds so aptly coined the phrase.”

Before Jack can respond, Will’s cellphone pings with the sound of an incoming text alert.

Lifting an eyebrow in a questioning manner at the sudden text message Jack then smirks like a cat that’s finally caught the canary, “Something tells me wherever Hannibal Lector is, that he’s not too far away. After all wherever one of you is the other is never too far behind.” 

Alana takes that moment to choose to make her entrance into the room. Dressed primly in a crimson dress suit, her dark brown hair is styled to the side of her face in long waving curls that reach down past her left shoulder covering part of her cleavage. 

“Will, I wish I could say that it was good to see you; but given the circumstances I’m sure you understand why it’s not.”

Will takes a deep breath and unlocks his cellphone to read Hannibal’s text which displays on screen in blaring letters, “I will be home shortly, do not do anything until I arrive.” He stares blankly down at the message for a moment ignoring the people in the room with him before he shakes his head and pockets the phone again.

When he looks back up he finds Alana staring at him expectantly with an open look of both pity and disdain, “Was that a text from Hannibal? Will he be joining us? Or is he leaving you behind?”

Jack chuckles snidely as Alana takes a seat on the couch next to him, “As much as I can’t exactly imagine Hannibal coming to Will’s rescue like a knight in shining armor; I also very much doubt that he would take the chance to miss making a grand entrance.” 

A car pulling up outside and parking in the driveway draws all of their attention.

Will fidgets some where he stood his hands clenching so tightly that his fingernails make crescent moon impressions against the skin of his palms.

 

\--------------------------------------------------

 

Upon arriving home Hannibal first takes note of two things, one the front door was left slightly ajar, and two the lack of dogs greeting him when he first walks inside.

Setting down his keys into a glass bowl resting on the small table by the coat rack he doesn’t even bother to take off his shoes as he makes his way further into the house, “Will?” 

When the younger man doesn’t answer him he his lips twitch into a slight frown. Hannibal steadily makes his way toward the living room stopping only momentarily to listen carefully to his surroundings.

“Ah, he really did come to save you after all. I guess miracles do happen.” Jack says sounding infuriatingly intrigued as Hannibal walks into the room.

Hannibal’s face betrays nothing at first upon seeing them, the only indication that he was even surprised or annoyed was the slight twitch of his lips dipping downward, “It would seem we have some rather unexpected uninvited guests.”

Will shifts from one foot to the other before shooting Hannibal an extremely anxious look.

Alana glares heatedly him, “So you’re alive, shame really I had so hoped that you weren’t.”

Hannibal smiles pleasantly at her as he prowls forward into the room like a predator locking it's eyes on it's prey,“Well Alana I did make you a promise after all, and I always keep my promises. Shall I make good on yours today?” 

Jack is off the couch in seconds practically vaulting over the coffee table in the process as he whips out the hidden gun he always keeps inside of his jacket.

Hannibal holds up both of his hands in a placating manner, “Now, now Jack. You can see I am completely unarmed. You wouldn’t shoot a unarmed man in cold blood would you?”

Jack grits his teeth his face contorting into a hideous sneer of both anger and hatred for the man in front of him, “What have you done to Will to make him stay with you for this long?”

Hannibal tilts his head slightly in inquiry as if confused by the question before his lips twitch into a bit of a half smile half smirk, “Whatever do you mean? I cannot seem to recall doing anything recently to Will Graham that he was not already amenable to.” 

Alana snorts her blue eyes turning icy, “When have you ever not done something that wasn’t totally in your favor in some way shape or form?”

“That is not a very nice or flattering depiction of me Alana, you still seem a tad bitter over what transpired between us. Perhaps it’s time to finally clear the air properly don't you think?” Hannibal edges forward closer into Jack and Alana’s personal space.

Jack growls viciously as he cocks the trigger of his gun in warning, “Take one step closer and I swear to god Hannibal this will end with a bullet through your skull.”

Walking past them Hannibal stops to stand directly next to Will, their eyes finding each other almost instantaneously. 

Breaking their gaze first Hannibal turns back to look at Alana and Jack, “What did you have in mind when you first came here Jack? Did you plan to kill me? I can’t imagine the FBI being too pleased with you after we left, how is your job? That is if you still have one.” 

Alana places a hand on Jack’s arm soothingly, “Jack, he’s only trying to set you off. You know how intricately his mind works; he’s always been an infuriating manipulative bastard that way.”

Jack looks conflicted, struggling with his emotions internally for a moment he lowers the gun but still keeps it wrapped tightly in his hand, “I have this whole place surrounded. One call from me and it’s over.”

Will eyes Jack warily his expression tight, “It would seem it was over from the start, you just wanted time to gloat at us first Jack.”

Jack’s dark brown eyes glint full to the brim with unforgiving betrayal and anger, “Will, you brought this upon yourself the moment you chose to leave with him.” 

“Will, this situation can still be salvaged. If you cooperate we can just arrest Hannibal, then after a few months of house arrest and provided that you pass the mandatory psychiatric evaluation we will be giving you, you can start to work toward getting your life back on track.” Alana says softly as she tries to persuade him. 

Lifting both eyebrows at her Will lets out a strained laugh, “Get my life back on track? What life was that exactly? The well fabricated lie of normalcy that I spoon fed myself every day for three years? Molly and Walter were my safest option, they had possibly been the most stable and normal part of my entire life. But it was all really just pretend in the end wasn’t it? Because let’s face it Alana, I’m not meant to have nice things. I’ve never exactly been the most stable of people; you know that all too well. In fact isn’t that why you chose Hannibal over me? Funnily how well that worked out in the end for you huh?”

Rearing back as if she’d been psychically slapped Alana gives him a wounded look.

“Will, please behave. It’s quite rude to insult guests no matter how unwanted they might happen to be currently.” Hannibal chides him.

“Enough small talk already; Hannibal get on your knees and put your hands behind your back.” Jack barks out as he walks forward toward them waving the gun in their direction.

“I don't think that I will Jack.” Hannibal states as he swiftly pulls out a pocket knife he had hidden up one of his suit sleeves. He flicks the blade open and advances forward with the grace and stealth of a professional dancer.

The next few seconds happen in a blur of movement, several things happen at once as the sound of Jack’s gun going off cracks through the silence of the living room like a bomb going off.

Alana lets out a wail of pure unadulterated horror.

Will staggers blinking dizzily as blood begins to pool from the gunshot wound that is now nestled in the hollow of his throat. A few tears leak out the sides of his startled blue eyes as his whole body seizes up against his will before he drops unceremoniously to the rug below him. His hands claw at the carpet helplessly, coughing raggedly blood spills from his parted lips.

Hannibal is immediately at Will’s side, both of his hands shakily hovering over the seemingly fatal wound almost unsure of what to do.”Will, what have you done?” His usually calm and steady voice is fraying at the edges of full blown panic. 

He hooks his arms around Will’s waist as his knees hit the floor behind the younger man; he pulls him gingerly onto his lap holding him as closely as possible without doing more harm.

Ignoring the blood that is steadily soaking through to his clothes Hannibal brings his hands down to try and staunch the blood flow but to no avail.

Alana can be heard in the background sobbing into her cellphone as she calls for an ambulance.

Jack just stands there in complete shock, “But…why would he? I don’t…I don’t understand…he wasn’t meant to do that…he….why did he save you?”

“Will, can you hear me? Mylimasis…?” Hannibal’s voice cracks toward the end of his sentence.

Will’s eyes are now half laden and slowly losing the bright sheen of their blue turning almost a dull gray in color, “H-Han…bal…a-are…you okay? It…didn’t…get you…r-right?” He coughs wetly blood flecks glistening and clinging to his lips as he speaks, slowly he reaches up one shaking hand to cup the side of Hannibal’s face, “W-why…do you…look so s-scared…?”

Blinking hard down at him Hannibal’s eyes grow heavy and wet as a few tears catch and collect on his eyelashes, “I…I am unharmed, you protected me. Why did you do it Will? I could have quite easily have dodged it.”

The younger man tries to smile but it comes out more as a pained grimace than a smile, his thumb weakly rubs over the side of Hannibal’s cheek bone, “I…didn’t think…just moved…d-don’t cry, Han…Hannibal…I’ve never…I’ve never seen you…actually cry be-before…ma-makes…me feel…k-kinda…sp-special…” More blood seeps from his lips, the pallor of his face growing paler with each passing second. 

Looking to be in a type of agony all of his own Hannibal leans down pressing their foreheads flush together, his hands slippery and hot with Will’s blood, “You have always been special to me Will Graham, even before I truly realized why. We are eternally woven together, you cannot even begin to try and unravel one of us from the other.”

Will began to sag in Hannibal’s arms his eyes almost now completely closed, “I don’t…I don’t regret any of it you know….meeting you…if…if….could go back…to the very start…..I’d do it all over again even…even if this would be…the only possible o-outcome f-for us.” He laughs wetly before it tappers off into rasped breathy gasps of air.

“Shhh, try not to speak Will, just…just stay with me please. I beg of you don't leave me, don't leave me…please…please don’t leave…” Hannibal desperately pleads and begs him softly.

His hands now fully abandoning any attempts to stop the bleeding, he cups Will’s face in both hands as he kisses him deeply in a harsh desperate clashing press of lips and connecting teeth.

“W-where….else would I possibly go?” Will murmurs out softly against Hannibal’s lips before he goes totally limp; his eyes fall shut, as his chest stutters twice more before falling to a to a full stop.

Hannibal clenches his tightly eyes closed, tears slowly make their ascent down his face, “Aš tave myliu, Mano meilė Ar galų gale tu dabar galėsi pailsėti.“ 

Time begins to slow down around him after that. 

It could have been only minutes, or hours that had passed him by and he wouldn‘t be any the wiser. But then as if someone had moved the arms on the face of a clock forward several paces everything began moving again almost too fast for him to follow.

Several FBI agents in swat jackets stormed in, spilling into the room at all angles and sides.

Someone was screaming, and it took him only a moment to realize that it was himself. 

Dozens of hands were tugging and pulling at him now, some of them wrapping their filthy hands around Will as they try to break him free of Hannibal‘s arms. 

Something deep inside of him snaps in half and his vision bleeds red. As soon as Will‘s body is pulled from his grasp Hannibal lets out a inhuman sounding roar of rage.

Before anyone can stop him his teeth sink into and tare out the throat of the FBI agent closest to him. Repeating the process twice more, it takes six more agents to wrestle him to the ground as he feels the tell tale pin prick of a needle jamming and injecting it's self into the side of his neck.

Hannibal grunts, growling and hissing like a wild animal as he spits and struggles until the very end, his vision begins to erode around the edges; the world as he knows it fading away into utter nothingness.

\-------------------------------------------------

Hannibal’s eyes snap open through the remaining hazing fog of the sedatives he had been pumped with. He was strapped and bound tightly to a worn out cot that creaked with every movement that he made. The familiar surroundings of his old cell come into focus as his senses returned to him one by one. Confusion washed over him briefly, before the memories of the previous few hours hit him like a tidal wave; bringing with it an onslaught of agonizing mind numbing pain and heartbreak.

Alana was seated in a chair outside of the glass wall of his cell, the paleness of her skin standing out against the blood red crimson of her dress suit, “I see you’re finally awake now.”

Hannibal turns his head as much as his full body restrains will allow him, his maroon eyes locking with her icy blue ones, “Where is he? Where did you take him Alana?” His voice is scratchy sounding and frayed around the edges bleeding with such emotion it seems to give her a momentary pause of shock which causes her to take a minute to collect herself. 

Her red lips twitch into a frown, “Will is dead Hannibal, his body is being autopsied as we speak. But he wasn’t really Will anymore was he? You made sure of that.” 

Hannibal’s eyes flutter shut as his Adam’s apple bobs uselessly in the column of his throat he swallows thickly as if in an attempt to swallow away the pain.

When he remains silent Alana shifts in her seat fidgeting uncomfortably before she dares to speak again, “Why did he take that bullet for you? I can’t quite understand it no matter how many times I replay the scene over again in my head...” Her voice trembles with unrestrained sorrow thick with tears, “What happened in these past two years that changed him in such a way that he would instinctively and willingly step into harm’s way to protect you of all people, even after everything that you’ve done to him, to everyone.” 

Hannibal reopens his eyes, they are slightly wet looking his lashes heavy with moisture, “One could theorize that we only pay attention to those in which we love most.” 

She makes a disturbed disgruntled noise of disbelief, “Are you claiming that Will Graham fell in love with the man behind the beast? This isn’t a fairytale romance Hannibal, if anything it’s a tragedy at best.” 

“Most truly remembered and revered love stories are those that end in sorrow and tears.” Hannibal murmurs out his voice seeming to tremble ever so slightly toward the end. 

A silence hangs heavily as it stretches over them before he breaks it again, “I want to see him.”

“Hannibal. Will, Will is gone, the FBI has taken custody of his body and they will ultimately be deciding what to do with his remains..it’s really out of my hands.”. Alana states carefully as she watches the usually well cultivated mask that Hannibal wears begin to crumble right before her eyes. 

He lets out a snarl baring his teeth so hard he begins to break the skin of his bottom lip, “Will is my husband, and they have no right to keep me from him.” 

Her eyebrows fur together, “He is not your husband, if he was ever really anything to you, he was your final victim. In the very end you are what killed him Hannibal. I hope you are happy with the final outcome, because it’s not one you can readily take back. As for seeing his body, I’m afraid that’s not exactly likely to happen seeing as you are probably not going to escape the death penalty this time around. Besides what right do you have to see him? You parade around this farce of marriage, but we both know full well that you can’t truly love anything but yourself.”

“I’m sure you will endeavor to believe in the very worst of me Alana, but know this. Whatever it is that you think you and I once had together, pales greatly in comparison to what Will Graham I have, and always will share. Not even death can sever such ties.” Hannibal says with conviction, his voice shaking strained and brittle sounding even to his own ears.

“How utterly uncharacteristically romantic of you Hannibal, it’s almost Shakespeareanly corny actually.” Alana chuckles out as she stands up, “I do hope you enjoy the little time that you have left here, because I’m going to make damn sure that the only way that you will be leaving this place is in a body bag.” 

Hannibal is silent for a moment before he speaks his eyes staring at the ceiling of his cell, “Everything dies Alana, even as a boy I was never really afraid of such things. Death is inevitable and we all die eventually the same way we came into this world, alone.”

Alana watches him her face taut with conflicting emotions warring for dominance in her expression, “Did Will Graham really accomplish the impossible? Did he manage to worm his way past even the most impregnable barriers of your heart where no one else has even come close to? Was he really worth so much to you Hannibal? What made him so uniquely special?”

Taking a shuttering breath inward he releases it shakily as he closes his eyes, “Will was, and always will be purely everything; He is and was my only equal in every way possible, almost terrifyingly so. At one point in time, I came to the conclusion that the only way for me to be rid of him, was to sever our conjoined souls. To try and cut out the cancerous mass that was the unnatural connection that we shared, I had to kill him. Though I soon realized something that Will had only just come to understand himself. To kill one of us, meant killing the other as well. Even now, I feel myself withering inside, my world is graying slowly without him in it. It might sound Shakespearean to you perhaps, but that is only because you like all of the others around you will never fully be able to comprehend what Will and I feel for one another. It cannot be labeled so easily, we have long since blurred beyond the confines of such things.” 

Shaking her head Alana looks at him her gaze confused and filled with hatred, “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you Hannibal, I don’t think even think Will could. But none of that really matters now does it? You are alone, and you will be until you die. You know it deep down to be the truth that it’s your own fault that Will is now dead.”

“I will never claim to not be at fault for his death Alana. If you want outright claims of my denial; for me to show you this seemingly evil and vile beast that is so severely incapable of feeling anything but just the negatives. This heartless villain from your own nightmares that you have depicted and painted me to be, then you surely will be sorely disappointed in the end.” He murmurs softly.

“Goodbye Hannibal.” Alana voices at last as she turns toward the door.

“Goodbye Alana.” Hannibal replies as he lets himself fade back into what little mental comforts he has left. He immerses himself in the many interchangeable overlapping memories stored within his memory palace.

\---------------------------

“You came.” Will smiles to him from where he is seated on one of the many empty pews of the cathedral.

Hannibal sits next to him so closely that their shoulders press together in a way that is somehow more intimate than holding hands ever could be, “Did you truly doubt that I would come for you?”

Will lets out an amused chuckle leaning into the older man’s warmth that emanates through the closeness of their bodies, “No, I suppose not. You always find me in the end, even when I’m desperately trying to run away and hide from you. Then again I guess I was really only walking in circles wasn't I?” 

Hannibal smiles gently clear affection brimming in his eyes at the younger, “We will always find our way back to each other, whether we truly wish to or not. I think that in its self has a beauty to it don’t you?”

“Mmm, you always were a sucker for poetry and art.” Will grins back at him.

Hannibal merely watches him for a moment before looking to the many lit candles around them, “Perhaps we should finally light one?”

Will stands and takes Hannibal’s hand within his own, “Together?”

“Together.” Hannibal agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> Hannibal's Goodbye, Lithuanian to English translation:
> 
> English Translation: Hannibal clenches his eyes, tears slowly make their ascent down his cheeks, “I love you, my love may you finally now be at rest."


End file.
